Melanie Knapp

George Mason University - Antonin Scalia Law School

Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University is strategically located in Arlington, Virginia, just two miles from downtown Washington, D.C., the nexus for the creation of the world's most important legislation and jurisprudence. Metropolitan Washington offers students access to hundreds of opportunities and legal resources of tremendous scope and depth. * Outstanding instruction from faculty and guest lecturers with significant experience in governmental and public policy organizations such as the White House, the Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. International Trade Commission, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. * Year-round employment opportunities with major executive branch agencies, congressional commissions and federal agencies, and the hundreds of private law firms located in the Washington, D.C., area. * Access to the "rocket docket," the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, which has the fastest trial docket in the United States and adjudicates some of the most complex civil cases in the nation, particularly patent, copyright, and employment cases. Northern Virginia offers professional advantages and diverse social, cultural, and educational opportunities unequaled in any other metropolitan region. Arlington County has vibrant commercial districts that host a number of industry leaders and Fortune 500 companies; the City of Alexandria houses the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and provides a venue for the headquarters of many national associations; Fairfax County, a world center of commerce and trade and the technology hub of the United States East Coast, has offices of more than 4,000 technology companies and national law firms located within its borders.